WILLIAMS, Ariz. — Arizona’s Grand Canyon Railway honored late Trains editor Jim Wrinn during a Saturday, April 23, excursion to mark Earth Day, adding a message, “Steam on, Jim Wrinn,” to the tender of 2-8-2 No. 4960. The locomotive is an appropriate one to use for an Earth Day event because the locomotive, built by […]
WESTBROOK, Conn. — A Metro-North/Connecticut Department of Transportation Kawasaki M8 electric multiple-unit trainset passes through Westbrook on Saturday, April 23, during training runs for Amtrak crews to operate the equipment. The qualifying runs between New Haven and Old Saybrook, Conn., are reportedly in preparation for use of the M8s on Connecticut’s Shore Line East commuter […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Mileage from four of the railroads which helped form today’s Reading & Northern were featured on a Saturday, April 23, excursion by R&N Rail Diesel Car. Trackage from the Reading Co., Central of New Jersey, Lehigh Valley Railroad, and Lehigh & New England were included in the fundraiser for the Railroad […]
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The owner of a Wyoming railcar refurbishment company has been convicted of wire fraud and for intentionally exposing his employees to asbestos. The Cowboy State Daily reports John Eldon Rimmasch, 47, faces a maximum penalty of 95 years in prison and $1.2 million in fines, while his company, Wasatch Railroad Contractors, faces […]
DENVER — The effort to develop rail service along a corridor between Fort Collins and Pueblo, Colo., entered a new phase on Friday with the first meeting of the Front Range Passenger Rail District board, created by legislation in 2021 to plan, develop, finance, and operate rail service in that corridor. Colorado Newsline reports state […]
FILLMORE, Calif. — Sierra Northern Railway’s Ventura Division began another step to introduce itself to local communities by operating a photo freight from Fillmore to Santa Paula and return. The train, powered by EMD F7A 100, consisted of a variety of freight cars with a heavyweight coach bringing up the rear. The railroad is aggressively […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has joined the list of those scheduled to testify at next week’s Surface Transportation Board hearing, Urgent Issues in Freight Rail Service, leading to an adjustment of the schedule for the two-day hearing. The board said in a press release that Buttigieg is scheduled to speak first on […]
In the fall of 2021, Trains.com staff rode Amtrak train no. 5, California Zephyr from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Denver, Colorado, with the expressed intent of capturing seasonal operations of Rocky Mountaineer’s Colorado-Utah excursion. While best known for day treks into the Canadian Rockies, this new Rocky Mountaineer route offers patrons a similar mountain canyon experience […]
CARSON CITY, Nev. – The Nevada State Railroad Museum will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad July 1-4 with the “Great Western Steam Up,” slated to include 17 steam locomotives, with nine operating locomotives representing six Nevada railroads. “We are excited to offer a lineup of historic steam locomotives unlike anything […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation is proposing to amend its emergency service regulations to allow immediate relief for shippers in situations requiring such action, including clarifying that the board may act on its own initiative to require emergency service. “The rail service challenges shippers are currently experiencing are amplified by certain recent conditions but are […]
ABOARD THE SILVER STAR — It took almost 10 years to complete Amtrak’s latest sleeping-car order. The 25 Viewliner II cars, manufactured by CAF USA in Elmira, N.Y., faced issues with meeting construction specifications before Amtrak agreed to accept them. But the latest arrivals are now operating alongside what had been the newest rolling stock […]
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific has postponed its planned tour this summer for Big Boy No. 4014, citing a need to “focus on efforts to ease supply chain congestion.” The trip to the Pacific Northwest via Northern California had been scheduled to begin June 26. The railroad said it would announce updated plans once service […]
